


Physical Issues

by ArtieSafari



Category: Andi Mack (TV)
Genre: M/M, Tyrus - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-01
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-19 21:37:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15519108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtieSafari/pseuds/ArtieSafari
Summary: Cyrus Goodman has finally realized his feelings for the oblivious dreamboat Jonah Beck are gone and is relieved he can finally breathe. That is, until a hug from his swing buddy and his best friend's enemy put things into perspective for him.





	1. Chapter 1

Buh-bum-buh-bum-buh-bum-buh-bum.  
     T.J. unwrapped his arms from around my waist before flashing me that smile and strolling out of The Spoon like nothing happened. I slumped down in the booth and threw my head against the seat, thankful for the soft leather. My heart finally started to return to its normal pace as I closed my eyes. Letting out a groan much louder than I had intended to, I buried my face into my arms and listened to the diner sounds around me to distract from what had just happened. In that moment, the only place I wanted to be was the swings. Sadly, that wasn't an option, because if T.J. was going to catch me off-guard anywhere, it'd be there.  
     Like he did the first time we really talked. And like he just had with that stupid warm hug. Why did he have to hug me? I just got over Jonah, I didn't need another stupid crush on another stupid cute boy with stupid cute hair who was stupid straight.  
     Everything was stupid.  
     "Cyrus!" I jumped up. My eyes shot open and darted around The Spoon. I let myself breathe when I saw Buffy sitting across from me.  
     "You know, it's not nice to scare a man when he's brooding," I complained, pressing my hand to my chest.  
     "Maybe if you answered me the first four times I wouldn't have scared you," she said before softening her glance. "So what's up? What's got you all broody?"  
     "Let's be honest, when am I not broody?" I joked, trying to change the subject as I realized telling Buffy about my newfound realization was... dangerous territory. Despite T.J.'s genuine apology, I could see the lingering bitterness and the shadow of her grudge lurking behind her eyes and sarcastic smile.  
     "Okay, but this is excessive. Even for you." I sighed and looked down to the table, flashbacks to when I first came out to her just a couple booths down. "You can trust me with anything."  
     "I'm just not ready to talk about it yet."  
     "Will you ever be?" I knew her question was rhetorical but I still considered it anyway. "You're scaring me, I just want to know you're alright."  
     "I'll be okay, it's not that big of a deal," I quickly said, looking back up at her only after I said it.  
     "If it's not a big deal, then why can't you tell me about it?"  
     "Because it's a huge deal and I'm not even ready to admit it to myself yet, let alone anyone else," I said. _Especially not you._ Running my hand through my hair, I sat in the silence as I tried to find the right words to say. As it turned out, I didn't need to say anything at all as Buffy side-eyed me.  
     "Is this about a boy?" she whispered. I mouthed words but no sounds came out. Her smile grew wide as she let out a squeal so high-pitched it was barely audible. "It is! Oh my gosh, tell me every detail!"  
     "Buffy, I just got over Jonah. I'm not ready to have another hopeless crush."  
     "How do you know it's hopeless?"  
     "You know when you like a guy, the first question is 'I wonder if he likes me?'" She nodded. "Yeah, for me it's 'I wonder if he likes guys at all.' And the answer is usually no." Buffy shook her head at me and reached her arm across the table. I gave her a small smile and took her hand.  
     "You'll find someone, I know you will. And who knows, maybe it's this mystery guy." I chuckled and she squeezed my hand tighter. "Now tell me, who is he?" I looked down at our hands and then back up at her. The concern peppering her brown eyes made them much softer than they were normally. I let out a shallow breathe and tried to come up with an out. Sadly, there was no way I was getting out of this.  
     "Promise you won't hate me?" I asked quietly as she gave me a confused look.  
     "Why would I...?" her sentence trailed off as I watched the realization wash over her face. "Because it's T.J." I bit my lip and tried to find any point to look at that wasn't her. "It is, isn't it?"  
     "Maybe..." I whispered as she sighed. "I'm sorry, I can't help it!" I pleaded desperately. "We were hanging out a while ago and we hugged and I realized that what I used to feel for Jonah didn't disappear, it just changed."  
     "To T.J." Her voice was either annoyed or disappointed, I couldn't tell which.  
     "I know you're still upset at him, but I promise you, I wouldn't like him if that was the real him."  
     "It all seemed pretty real to me."  
     "Buffy, I know you won't understand, but I need you to trust me. The T.J. you met on the basketball team was the T.J. he wanted you to see so you wouldn't look deeper." Silence. For once, I couldn't read her expression at all despite my best efforts.  
     "I'll never know what you see in him," she said. "But clearly you see something. And at the end the day, if you're happy, that's all that matters." We shared a smile as she shook my hand a bit before letting go. "So tell me, what do you see?"  
     That's when I told her about all of it. About him calling me Underdog, about the smile he saved just for me, and about how he never judged me for my quirks. There was probably other stuff in there too, but I was rambling so much I couldn't even keep up with myself. Her smile got bigger as I kept talking and we shared a few chuckles.  
     "I hope things work out for you," she said.  
     "So, you're not mad at me?"  
     "How could I be?" she asked, and I breathed a sigh of relief she wouldn't put me through another ultimatum.  
     "What are we talking about?" Andi asked as she quickly slid into the booth next to me, making me jump and gasp.  
     "Have either of you ever heard of a warning?" I asked as the two laughed. So the next while was spent eating baby taters and talking about T.J. I was just thankful he had already gone home and wasn't there to hear any of it, I checked multiple times, because I wasn't sure how he would take it and I couldn't handle the thought of scaring him off.  
     But if I hadn't already, could anything really scare him off? I didn't want to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone on Buffy's basketball team invited her to a party at his house, and she decided to bring Cyrus as her plus one.

     Buffy promised me I'd be okay. As we walked up to the door, she promised that I wouldn't feel out of place and encouraged me to have fun. But once she found herself distracted by her teammates, I found myself wandering around the house. I saw no familiar faces and I couldn't even tell if T.J. was there. Everyone was talking to or dancing with somebody, and soon enough I was sitting on the back deck choking back tears. The chilled air didn't bother me. I stared at the frost-covered ground and huddled into myself. Why was I still there? I contemplated calling my mom to come get me, but I didn't get far into that thought.

     "Hey Underdog," I heard T.J. say from behind me. I didn't turn around but he came and sat next to me with a smile that quickly faded. "Hey, what's wrong?"

     "It-it's nothing, I'm fine. Just needed a moment alone." Unable to stop myself, I wiped at my cheek before putting on a happy face.

     "You can tell me what's going on, I'm here for you," he said, putting his hand on my knee. For whatever reason, that did it. I couldn't stop myself from fully crying out. He put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in closer to him. It was so sudden I doubt he even thought about it. I cried into his jacket despite my best attempts to compose myself. "It's okay, let it all out." His voice was barely above a whisper as he rubbed my arm for comfort.

     "Aren't you worried someone'll see us?" I asked once I had enough control to speak.

     "I care much more about making sure you're okay than about what people might say." I let out a smile as I wiped away the stray tears still dropping. "So, do you want to tell me what's going on?" Still avoiding looking into his eyes, I sighed. Our silence lingered between us and for once, neither of us was in a rush to fill it. Through the gentle breeze rustled the dying trees and the faint sounds of music bumped behind us, I could still hear my heart pounding in my chest.

     "When I got here, I was hanging out with Buffy," I started quietly. "She got caught up in some other conversation and so I tried to find you. You're the only other person here that I know. And I saw that everyone had someone and it just hit me all at once. It seems like everyone in there is in this happy relationship and I..." I fumbled with my hands as I tried to get the words to come out. "I'm scared." My voice was so strained it barely came out at all. "I'm scared I'll never get the chance to have that." I finally forced myself to look up at him, and it was obvious how much it hurt him to hear. I'd never seen him look so hurt. "I'm sorry, that was a lot to just dump on you. You should just go in there and have fun, I'll be okay."

     "How could I have fun when I know you're out here hurting?" he asked, kneeling down on the step in front of me. "Underdog, listen to me," he said. "You're an awesome person. I've never met anybody else as thoughtful and generous as you are. You're also funny and so unapologetic about being yourself, and it's honestly incredible. Anybody would be lucky to have you. And I promise, if there's one thing I know, it's that you won't end up alone. There's a girl out there for you." All I could do was shake my head at the last part.

     "That's the problem. There can't be." He furrowed his brow, trying to figure out what I meant. "I'm not attracted to girls and I never have been," I admitted quietly as his face softened. "I tried, trust me, I tried so hard but I just can't do it. And it feels like nobody else understands what I'm going through."

     "You tried to change yourself because you just wanted to be normal. When you realized you couldn't do it, you tried to hide it. You've spent hours trying to convince yourself that you can just ignore it and maybe it'll go away and you won't have to deal with it. But it always comes back and you wonder what you did to deserve this, why you couldn't just be like everyone else," he said.

     "Yes... That's, that's exactly what I've been going through," I said, astounded. "How did you know?"

     "Because I've been through it. I've been through the  _exact_ same thing." He spoke slowly, especially the ending. I gave him a small smile as he moved to sit down next to me this time. As much as I tried, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. "What?" he asked with a teasing grin.

     "Oh, nothing, I just..." I broke my gaze for a few moments before looking back over at him. Clearing my throat, I looked down only to have him place his hand under my chin, making me look back up at him. He was much closer than he had ever been before, staring into my eyes with that special smile on his lips. My heart felt like it might explode and I forgot anything else existed. I couldn't tell if the goosebumps on my skin were from him or the cold. He leaned in closer, a mere inches away from me.

     "Can I?" he whispered.

     "Please," I nodded. Leaning in, we closed our eyes and he pressed his lips to mine softly. My heart briefly stopped before going into hyper-speed when he pulled away. I was speechless, smiling uncontrollably. T.J. was the same as I let out a small chuckle of disbelief that this was really happening.

     "Huh, so that's what it's supposed to feel like," I whispered as we laughed.

     "Yeah... Wow," he said breathlessly. We sat like that for what could have been an eternity. I wouldn't have complained it if had been one. "You know," he said eventually. "We should probably get back into the party. They'll get suspicious if we're out here too long." I sighed and nodded before we stood up, jumping as came face to face with the last person I wanted or expected to see.

     Amber.


End file.
